Cloudy Eyes
by Little Nemo
Summary: Tsuna was seven when he lost his ability to see. Blind and with only a dog as a true friend, Tsuna never thought he'd be able to amount to anything and neither did anyone else. That is, until Reborn enters his life and turns his whole life upside down.
1. Prolouge

Summary: Sawada Tsunayoshi has been blind since he was seven due to bullying. How can he cope with his loss? He doesn't know it yet, but with every dark cloud, comes a silver lining. His silver lining comes in awakening of sleeping abilities, a friend for life and a family that will never let him down. And with that, his gain by far outweighs his loss. (Auish, maybe BL?)

A/N: I actually got it out on Christmas? Yay! I think I have some mistakes here and there that I haven't managed to catch, so if you catch any, please point them out. The first chapter is shorter than I would've liked, but I couldn't push myself to write more. I hope no one feels the characters are too OOC. This is six years before KHR starts.

I used some Japanese in here, because some words in English just don't fit the Japanese equivalent as well as it should.

Anata- you, dear (although it means you, my friend's host family once told her that 'anata' could be used as 'dear' in an affectionate way too, and for some reason, it fit better in my head than 'dear' ever could)

For Jack Of Trade because it's her challenge I took up and Sapphermine, who helped me get out of my writing slump by discussing it with me. xDDD

Warnings: Future BL of the 1827 kind and other pairings I'm not certain on yet.

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.

* * *

He could hear the voices, murmuring and swirling about his head in a never ending cycle. He could hear his mom, sobbing fitfully near him. Mama he wanted to cry out. Mama, why are you crying? I'm sorry I got hurt so badly, he whimpered, so please don't cry.

But he couldn't open his mouth. Everything felt so, so numb yet sore. It didn't make any sense. Where was he? Why couldn't he see? Why could he only hear and why could he only hear his mama cry and beeping of a machine? The beeping of the odd machines was annoying and terrified him and reminded him of the time his grandfather died in hospital. He didn't like it much. He heard his papa's voice then, speaking with barely suppressed rage. He somehow knew the rage wasn't directed at him, but at someone else. Still, it terrified him and made him want to apologize over and over. Papa had always been calm and happy- never before had he been angry. Papa, he tried this time. Papa, help me! I don't want to be alone like this.

But still, no one answered. Suddenly, he felt so ashamed of himself. If only he watched where he was going and hadn't bumped into Kawada Satoshi and his friends after a normal school. If only he hadn't let them torture those poor rabbits. If only he didn't let them hurt him so badly. If only he defended himself, fought back harder, been a better good boy, let the normal school day stay a normal school day. Then Mama wouldn't be crying( Mama was always suppose to be happy, it's not right if she's sad), Papa wouldn't be mad(he still didn't know who he was angry at, but he shouldn't be) and he wouldn't feel so alone in an empty black space with the barest of shafts light and shadows to keep him company.

_If only…if only  
_

But still…he felt so tired…he…

…just…wanted…to…sleep…and forget...jusr for a moment...

* * *

Iemetsu watched over his family, with his normally happy, laid back looking face twisted into a pensive frown. The white hospital room was quiet, with only Nana's tearful sobs and the steady beeps of the machines breaking the silence. Their son lay in the hospital bed (half bald because they had to get rid of his hair in order to cut open his head and it looks so wrong to see those stitches standing out on smooth skin), so pale even against the white sheets, seemingly so very small while breathing through a mask and was attached to various machines and tubes that made his son look so very, very fragile- like a leaf that could be blown away by the wind at any given momentThe blonde man frowned- and that's what could've happened too, had they not found their son in time to get him to the hospital.

He clenched his fist, his nails digging into his palm, as he thought about what had happened earlier on in the day. How dare they- how _dare they hurt his son_. How could they torture him like that? Iemetsu nearly snarled in rage. He had been there when they were out searching for Tsuna, who had been missing for five hours by then (Nana had frantically called everyone she could when Tsuna had gone missing for an hour but the police brushed her off and off till they realized, it had been five hours and Tsuna was gone without a trace- that didn't mean Iemetsu worked with them though).

He had seen the area where those brats- no _monsters_ (they weren't kids. Kids were innocent- they would never thought of doing these kinds of things that adults could think up of) dragged his son into, a secluded forestry place in the park. He had seen the tortured rabbits, which looked like they've been mauled over and over, he had seen the blood- everywhere, on the monsters themselves and all over his little boy who wasn't screaming and _wasn't breathing. _He had heard his own screams of rage (ones that terrified the little monsters and good because if they were scared of death threats, they'd be absolutely terrified of what he'd do next) and remembered being held back by his own men and the arriving police, while the sirens of the ambulance screeched in the air. He had remembered his son, so pale with his face drawn in fear, even in his unconcious state, loaded onto the stretcher and into the ambulance, to be taken to the hospital. After that, everything became a blur of frantic movement and worry that clouded his mind.

And it had been such a normal day. Nana had cried her heart out in the hospital waiting room (and Iemetsu found himself helpless to comfort her. How could he was he saw all that blood, the look of fear all over his son's face, even in sleep), waiting for the red light to blink off. How could such a perfectly fine-normal day turn into such a nightmare, she had cried. Iemitsu knew how and yet he didn't , so he couldn't answer her question at all.

But then the light went off and the surgeons came out, a bit blood stained but looking rather relieved than solemn. They found out Tsuna would live but only when he awakens will they see if there were any other injuries to the brain. And everything, he hoped would be normal again.

They watched over the unconcious body of their son, not wanting to leave, even though Iemitsu knew they should've gone home and gotten some sleep already. Even though they knew their son would be fine in the morning(with many assurances from the doctors), Iemetsu found himself unwilling to pull away from Tsuna's bed. After a couple of minutes of waring with himself over leaving, he pulled himself off the chair and approached his quiet, withdrawn wife.

"Nana," he murmured quietly, "we should go home and get some sleep. We'll come back in a couple of hours." His beautiful wife looked up at him, stricken.

"Iemitsu, our son is in the hospital. He's nearly been beaten to death by those _ch-children_. How can we leave him all alone like this?" She nearly hissed, with bloodshot eyes and mussed up hair. Iemetsu knew what she was worried, but he also knew that they would be no use to Tsuna if they collasped from exhaustion.

"Anata, the doctors said that he'll be sleeping till tomorrow," He continued, frowning slightly as he barely contained his anger (which definitely not directed at Nana. Nana was his favorite person in the world, after all), after being reminded of what _they_ did to Tsuna (who was so innocent, so shy, and so cute). "I'm furious at what happened to Tsuna, but we'll be no use to him if we're too tired to stay awake when he does wake up."

They turned away from their son, and argued for a few moments, Nana sobbing as she did so but Iemitsu finally convinced that her that sleep was needed, so they left, giving a brief glance back as they did so. They could only hope that by the time their son awakened, that things would go back to normal.

Had they been looking properly at their son, they would've noticed their son's eyes flutter open to reveal unseeing, blank gold-brown eyes before they slid shut once again. And had they noticed, they definitely would not have left Tsuna's side throughout the night.

* * *

Nana sighed from her hard plastic seat next to her son's bed, watching over her son while her husband had been forced to leave for work ("I have to work to pay for the hospital bills, Nana," Iemitsu said when she protested against him leaving, "I don't want to leave Tsuna or you, but I have to.") Humming quietly, she flicked through a magazine, her false cheer hiding her anxiety. She noted many of the machines of that were attached to her son two days before had been removed, such as the mask, much to her relief. In grossed in attempting to read her magazine, she didn't notice her son stir or his blank eyes flutter open.

"Mama," Tsuna whimpered and Nana jerked up, happy and relieved that her son was finally awake. She took her son's small hand in her own, rubbing the smooth skin with her thumb. Now that her sweet little Tsu-kun was awake, everything would normal again.

"Tsu-kun, how are you feeling? Does anything hurt? Do you want me to call the doctors?" She cooed. Tsuna coughed quietly and frowned strangely as she helped him up into a sitting position.

"'M thirsty," he murmured, his brow furrowing into a frown. Nana nodded and got up to pour him a glass of water. When she turned back, she was surprised to see him patting the skin around his eyes in confusion, looking as if he was feeling for something. Shrugging it off for now, she merely beamed and held the glass out in front of him.

"Here you go, Tsu-kun! I'll get you some juice next time, okay?" Her son stared up at her, his eyes blank but the rest of his face was contorted into fear. He didn't move to take the glass, much to her confusion.

"Tsu…kun? Is something the matter?" A shiver went down her spine. Something was wrong…terribly wrong…

"Mama…it's so dark…" It was uttered so quietly, she had to strain her ears to hear it.

"I…I...I can't see…" Nana froze, the glass slipping from her fingers and smashed into pieces onto the floor. She didn't notice, as she stared at her little boy in horror.

"Wha-What? Tsu-kun what are-" Shock and horror laced her words and she broke off abruptly. Tsuna whimpered again, tears welling up in his unseeing eyes.

"Mama, I can't see! I CAN'T SEE! WHY CAN'T I SEE?!" Her son curled up into a ball, sobbing and hiccuping, the words 'I can't see...mama help me...' were barely distiguishable from the rest of his cries.

Nana could only stare at her shaking son, frozen with the realization that nothing would be the same ever again.

Nothing.

* * *

_"Since your son has been hit in the head very badly, we __weren__'t sure of the extent of the damage. The head is a very sensitive area. Complications such as coma or paralysis could come from a blow to the head. __Such as blindness."__It was stated in such a matter of fact manner. __So cool, so callous.  
_

_"Is it curable? Is there a surgery to fix it?"__Desperation coloured her words. She needed to know.  
_

_"I'__m afraid not, Sawada-san. There is no __surgery__ to fix it. Had Tsunayoshi-kun's blindness been caused by an injury directly to the eyes, there would've been a chance that we could've performed an eye transplant on him. However, the brain is a very complicated organ and we simply do not have the knowledge or skill the repair the nerves that have been affected.__ There is also the fact that a __surgery__ could have a negative effect on the rest of his body.__"__ There was a little bit of sympathy tinging the doctor's words, but that did not take__away the simple fact that her son was blind. __Permanently.  
_

Nana had known that without his eyesight, Tsuna would be changed. But she didn't think it would change him to this extent. While her son had never been the most outgoing and rambunctious of children, he still had this spirit of innocence and kindness that most children seemed to possess. But now…

He just sat there, practicing brail and his writing skills. He barely talked or played and barely smiled in joy or happiness. Just sat there like a broken marionette, with it's strings cut off.

He seemed so empty. So blank and lifeless. Nana wasn't sure if it was due to being blind or the torture that Iemetsu said that he had gone through (something he never elaborated on, much to her frustration. Tsu-kun was her _son_. She needed to know). And it hurt. Not knowing what her son was feeling, seeing how un-childlike he had become.

There had to be a way to make him smile again. There had too. Because, she was a mother and Tsuna was her son. She had an obligation to fulfil. Nana fixed a bright and happy smile on her face as she puttered around her boy, making sure he was comfortable and had his fill of food. She had the obligation to be happy and cheerful, be the sun while their family turmoiled underneath a dark cloud.

And hoped that the silver lining would show up soon. 

* * *

Iemetsu was such a pain to write. So was Nana. DDx. OOCness gallore?


	2. Changes

A/N: Gah. I have absolutely no idea why this chapter was such a pain to finish--but I finally managed to get it done in the end. It had been sitting on my computer for god knows how long, then put on my lj to see if I could find more inspiration from my f-list. I know that there are probably a lot of mistakes- and once I finish my exams and assignments, I'll be sure to come back and neaten up the chapter a bit. Or find a reliable beta.

I found a very interesting tidbit when doing some research for this story: Japan apparently has these yellow lines with brail on them(you have no idea how many awesome Blind!Hikaru fics there are) on the main streets and subways.

(I also apologize for the odd switch from "mama" and "papa" in the last chapter to "Kaa-chan" and "Tou-san" in this one. ...Mama and papa...it just sounded weird in this chapter, whereas their Japanese counterparts...fit...)

Dedicated to Momo-chan, whose b'day I forgot to make a present!fic for. And yes, I lack line breaks-- ff net killed them.

XXX

It had been almost a year since Tsuna had lost his sight. Things were slowly getting better, and slowly but surely, their life began to pick itself up and become right and normal again. It was almost like before- that, Nana could deal with. Still, there were the little things around the house that reminded her harshly of what had changed for good- the various books filled with brail (which she had never managed to learn herself), the off white lines along the walls that were similar to the yellow lines that covered the main streets and subways, odd little gadgets around the house.

They didn't stop Tsuna from tripping over his feet or bumping into inanimate objects though("Tsu-kun!WATCH OUT!" "UWAAAH!!" CRASH! BANG! "O-o-owww"). Tsuna might have been a bit accident prone before, but now--now, he was almost a walking disaster(though the doctor said in due time, he'd be able to find his way around without bumping into anything- so that was what Nana was hoping for). Almost. Because for some odd reason, he never managed to walk into anything that was living and breathing.

"Tsu-kun, you know I don't like you wearing sunglasses inside the house," Nana scolded as she set the dishes on the table. Her son sighed before reluctantly taking off his sunglasses and placing them on the table before he scrambled into his chair.

At the very least, Nana thought with relief, Tsu-kun's night terrors had completely vanished and he was slowly becoming the Tsu-kun before the incident. She smiled at her son across the table(for two again— Iemitsu had been called away to his job once more) and gave a small cheerful hum.

"Tsu-kun, how was school today?"

Tsuna looked up from his dinner and an odd look crossed his face before he smiled brightly(and had Nana been focusing on her son with her full attention, she would've noticed it was a little forced).

"It was good. Nakamura-sensei said I was making a lot of progress with learning brail recently," Tsuna began excitedly, "and Dr. Akiyama said that I was doing really well with my ph-ph-therapy and everything."

Nana smiled. Unlike the first doctor, Dr.Akiyama was much more pleasant and sympathetic to Tsuna's plight.

"Ne, 'Kaa-chan...when is 'Tou-san going to come home?" Tsuna's sudden question startled her out of her musings. There was an oddness to his voice as he began poking at his rice.

Nana brightened instantly at the thought of her handsome husband. She squealed and buried her face in her hands.

"Tou-san is coming home on Saturday. So I got the school to let you have a day off so you can welcome him home!"

She paused suddenly before adding as an after thought, "the lovely man that takes care of 'Tou-san all the time is coming to visit too. So, Tsu-kun, be on your best behavior!"

Tsuna sweated. "Ye-yes, Kaa-chan."

xxx

The Vongola mansion was a majestic place, with a rich elegance to it, one that could not be replicated by the flashy, quick to be gone riches of smaller crime lords. It's elegance wasn't so much to do with the high class, expensive items found in the mansion, but the soft aristocracy in the design, one that both intimidated and lulled people into a sense of security. It's peaceful, normal nature was a complete contrast to the bloody and blackened world the occupants delved themselves in.

Despite the peaceful and relaxing appearance at first glance, there was a certain tenseness to the peoples' walk, as if expected an attack to hit them at any time soon. In various sections of the mansion, coated people milled around aimlessly, projected illusions of unblemished surfaces, hiding away the destruction and damaged that had ravaged the mansion only a few weeks prior.

"Are you sure about this, Ninth?" Iemitsu questioned. Timeoto chuckled as they walked side by side down the soft carpeted hallways of the mansion. They moved soundlessly, despite Iemitsu's heavier gait and the older man's cane that tapped into the floor every now and then.

"I may no longer be as young as I used to be, but I'm pretty sure even after my short bout with the flu I can still manage to visit Japan for a short period of time."

"But with the cradle incident and the rival mafia families getting rest--" Iemitsu's protest was cut off by a simple wave of an elderly hand.

"Do not worry, Iemitsu. My flame still burns as strongly as it did so many years ago. I am still capable of defending myself from possible threats." Timeoto's tone was stubborn and Iemitsu knew better than to push the topic.

Kindly or not, Timeoto was the Ninth Gen. Boss of the Vongola Famiglia, Iemitsu knew how dangerous and frighteningly powerful the man could be. After all, working as the outside advisor, he knew the ins and outs of the Vongola better than almost anyone.

The man had proved that strength once again, when he took down Xanxus without much damage to himself—Xanxus, who had become the leader of the Varia and somehow managed to twist their loyalty to him and only him. Considering Xanxus's violent, vengeful and angry nature, Iemitsu still wasn't sure what compelled him to ask the Ninth to save him. The damage to the castle and the death toll would've been considerably less had the Ninth outright killed the ringleader.

"Of course, Ninth." Iemitsu murmured, inclining his head slightly in respect. The elderly man smiled, losing his sternness and pushed the conversation to a much more pleasant topic.

" Now, I believe you were telling me about young Tsunayoshi and your lovely wife Nana earlier on? I do want to know more about them before I actually visit them this weekend."

Iemitsu wasn't exactly pleased with Timeoto's refusal to discuss his condition or the Cradle Incident, but it wasn't often that people generally wanted to hear about his beautiful wife Nana(NANA-he felt giddy already just thinking about his wife) and his adorable son.

Xxx

Tsuna whined and buried his face into the back of his mother's skirt, attempting to block out the heavy buzz of noise that went on and on. The squeaky wheels of trolleys, bawling babies and other kids("BUT KAA-CHAN!! I WANT CANDY, NOOW!!" "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"), business men and women jabbering away half a mile a minute into their phones("No, you don't understand! That shipment had to have come in--" "I see, I see. So, I'll see you in New York at the Emerald Pavilion? Good, good. Get a cab there if you can't get a limo"), the crackly almost robotic voices over the intercoms(" Flight 147 will be delayed for two hours. We apologize for the inconvenience"), the heavy roar of the planes as they took off-- it was all almost too much for him to bear.

"Tsu-kun, be patient for another minute, okay? 'Tou-san will be out with his boss in a little while! There aren't any chairs, so I'm afraid will have to remain standing till they get out. I'll treat you to some candy later," Nana said in a distracted manner, scanning the crowds for a familiar face that always managed to tower over everyone else and gave Tsuna a light pat on the head. Tsuna pouted and continued to bury his face into her skirts in order to block out the noise(the smells weren't so bad, actually, so he didn't mind it).

It wasn't that he was tired, it was just that it was too noisy and it hurt his ears, he wanted to say. However, the thought of receiving candy later stopped him from complaining.

"There he is!" Nana cried in happiness, waving her hand madly to catch the attention of the tall, burly blond man who stuck out like a sore thumb over the milling crowd(who incidentally, where avoiding him like plague (strange, because he was in a suit for once and actually cleaned up).

"IEMITSU!" Nana called out, adoration colouring her voice. Tsuna blanched at the familiar tone and quickly took three steps back, away from her.

"NANA!" He called back, a silly lovesick grin on his face as he pushed his way through the crowd and gave his petite wife a sloppy kiss on the cheek, much to her delight(judging by the way she quickly buried her face into her hands and squealed with delight) and spun her around. Forgotten for the moment, Tsuna pulled a face. Ick. Lovesick parents kissing. Ick. Ick. Ick.

"Iemitsu, I don't believe you've introduced me yet."

A hearty chuckle caught his attention and disrupted his parents adoring, lovey-dovey words to each other. He turned and sucked in his breath. Every once in a while, he'd find a person who had a presence that seemed to shine in a certain colour. Even in, most people he met – their presence were always too weak or had a mix of other colours to it( sometimes, he could see a yellow colour to his 'Kaa-chan. But it came and went all the tine). This was the first time he had ever seen someone with an orange colour-- let alone such a strong and powerful one.

Shaking slightly, he took a couple of steps forward and went back to clutching his mother's skirts.

"Haha. Sorry, Ni-Timeoto-san. Timeoto, meet my lovely wife Nana." Iemitsu grinned, pushing his wife forward gently with a small pat on her back. Nana smiled brightly and bowed.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you, Timeoto-san. I've heard wonderful things about you. And I have to thank you for taking care of Iemitsu."

Iemitsu laughed. "Aww, Nana, don't say that."

Timeoto gave another hearty chuckle. " It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Nana-san. I don't see how someone like Iemitsu could managed to get such a lovely and beautiful wife like you. In my personal opinion, you are far too good for him."

Nana blushed, "o-oh, my..." and cupped her cheeks in embarrassment, while Iemitsu was torn between spluttering indignantly and praising the man for his good taste in recognizing beautiful, exceptional women.

Out of the corner of his eye, Timeoto spotted a spiky mass of hair hiding behind Nana's skirts. He crouched down to the child's level and smiled warmly.

"Well, who might you be, young one?"

"Tsu-kun, say hello to Timeoto-san," Nana persuaded, giving her child a gentle nudge to the elderly man's direction. Tsuna hesitated before taking half a step away from the protection of his mother and gave a short, clumsy childish bow to the man in front of him.

"H-h-hi" he muttered shyly, trying not the quail under the powerful presence.

"Hello, Tsunayoshi-kun," Timeoto smiled again.

And like a wave, the orange presence crashed down on him, shocking him to his very core with the sheer power it radiated. With a squeak, he ducked back behind his mothers legs, burying his face in her skirts. Timeoto looked startled and looked up at Nana and Iemitsu with a partially amused partially helpless look.

Nana laughed, "Don't be offended, Timeoto-san. Tsu-kun is just really shy around strangers."

Grinning himself, Iemitsu reached down behind his wife and hoisted his son onto his shoulders(who let out a surprised yelp before clinging to his head for dear life).

"Well, I think we've milled around here long enough--it's time to get home, isn't it?"

-- -

"Ni-Boss!" Iemitsu called from the doorway as he signed off the delivery. " The thing you ordered just arrived!" The crate wasn't anything special. Aside from the "FRAGILE!" and "HANDLE WITH CARE" labels that covered it, there was nothing unique about it at all. It was what that was inside the box that was important. Iemitsu was tempted to shake it up for fun, but figured there had to be something delicate inside if it was brought to the house in such a careful manner.

Curious, he lifted the crate up to his shoulders with ease and carried it to the kitchen, settling down onto the floor beside the table.

"Ah, I was waiting for my present for Tsunayoshi-kun to arrive." Timeto smiled, cutting off his story to the little bundle of joy he currently had on his lap. Tsuna, distracted peered at the crate with the same curiosity as his father, scrambled down and began poking it and tugging at the top.

Taking a break from Italy was really doing wonders to his health, Timeoto found out. The lack of mafia duties during his stay with Iemitsu certainly took a burden off his shoulders. Or maybe it was the cute little bundle called Tsuna who, after getting over his fear seemed to follow him around like a lost puppy. Which, ironically, was exactly inside the crate.

When Timeoto had found out the young boy had gone blind, he had been worried. If the boy couldn't see, then how would he protect himself from would be assassins? The answer came to him, when he spied the arcobalenos' familiars. He knew exactly what he could do to help.

"Ne...Ojii-san...is this present really for me?" Tsuna questioned, poking his fingers through the holes of the crate. Nana turned away from the sink and gasped.

"Tsu-kun! You shouldn't do things like--" A surprised yelp from Tsuna cut her off. The boy stumbled back, staring at his fingers in surprise. "Th-that tickled," he whined.

"Of course the present is for you," Timeoto laughed. "Go on, open it. Just push the top open."

At his prompting, the small boy scurried back over to the box and using all his strength and height, pushed the lid right off it. And was promptly attacked by a yipping fluffy ball of yellow, sending hims sprawled into the ground.

"H-hey! S-s-stop!" The boy burst into fits of giggles as the puppy pressed its wet nose against his face, nuzzling him and sniffling him, apparently investigating its new master. After a few minutes(much to the adults' amusement), Tsuna finally managed to stop his giggling fit to figure out what exactly his present was.

"Thank you, Timeoto-jiisan," Tsuna beamed as he held the puppy closer to his face.

The silky fur felt ticklish, soft and light against his face. Giggling again, Tsuna hugged the small, seemingly fragile puppy to his chest, delighting in the warm that enveloped him. In the distant part of his mind, he blurredly saw- or rather felt an orange glow surrounding the puppy, outlining its form. It was a bit like the glow that surrounded Timeoto-jiisan. But not quite as strong or as intimidating.

"Well, Tsu-kun? What are you going to name him?"

Tsuna thought about his answer for a bit as the puppy yipped happily and licked his face. He threaded his fingers through silky fur. It felt short and fluffy, a bit like a dandelion he was playing with earlier. A dandelion. Dandelions were suppose to be bouncy too, weren't they?

"Tanpopo,"he declared brightly.

"Well, not my first choice of name," Timeoto mused, as he knelt down to the child's level, patting the yellow fluff ball in Tsuna's small arms lightly on the head. Tanpopo yipped in acknowledgment before turning back to his new owner. who was fluffing its fur up. Timeoto chuckled.

"But certainly fitting enough."

Nana suddenly squealed and scuttled out of the room. Iemitsu stared at his lovely wife in confusion.

"Nana?" Just as quickly as she left, she raced back in, camera in hand.

" Tsu-kun looks so cute with Tanpopo-chan!" She cooed, snapping photos rapidly of the oblivious duo, one after another. Suddenly, she paused and turned to the two men with a bright smile.

"We should take a group photo so we can always remember this day!"

A couple of minutes of scurrying about and laughter before a bright flash appeared, followed by a simple photo immortalising a sweet, family moment. It would be one of the few things, Timeoto knew he would cherish above everything else- and be the only reminder of a happy, innocent time that he could no longer be apart of.

xxx

The smell of antiseptic, blood, sickness and death that constantly hung around the hospital made Tsuna ill. He really didn't like being in the hospital at all. It wasn't just the scents that no one else but him seemed to be able pick up but the constant quiet buzz of noise that gave him headaches that he never seemed to be able to shake off.

The beeping of machines, the crying, sobbing, the sounds of dying breaths, quiet mutterings of doctors- the noise just swirled around and pounded in his head relentlessly. He hated it. He just wanted it to stop. He rubbed at his eyes. Still, he comforted himself with the knowledge it was never as bad as airports or train stations.

Pouting and lost in his thoughts, he didn't take care to watch his step till he crashed into another kid.

"Ooof!"

"Ah!"

The two children fell to the ground, rubbing their foreheads in an almost identical manner.

"Ow, hey...are you okay?" The other kid was the first to recover, and he scrambled to his feet before extending his good arm out to help.

"...yes, I-I'm okay," Tsuna stammered, not noticing the hand that was held out to him. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry for bumping into you." He nearly wailed.

"Ahaha, no worries. You didn't do it on purpose!"

The boy's cheerful smile faltered slightly when Tsuna didn't take his hand but he didn't drop his arm- instead he reached out and pulled the boy to his feet. Laughing, he helped brushed the dirt off the other more flustered boy.

"My name's Yamamoto Takeshi, you can call me Takeshi- what's yours?" The taller boy(it was now more obvious as both were standing up side by side) asked. Tsuna tilted his head upward, looking up with pale, blank irises in confusion. Had Takeshi been anyone else, he would have gasped in shock- instead, he took it in stride(it certainly explained why the smaller boy hadn't taken his hand- blind people couldn't see after all)

Why would someone want to know his name? He hesitated before giving his own name. "T-Tsuna." There. He had given his name to this strange boy who was oddly friendly and cheerful. Now what?

"Tsuna," Yamamoto Takeshi repeated before brightening again and dragged the boy along with him. "Do you want to learn how to play baseball?"

"Wh-what? I don't really think I can learn..."Tsuna squeaked, stumbling after the energetic boy, trying to ignore the feelings of happiness and acceptance bubbling up inside his chest. Takeshi-kun probably only felt sorry for him- Tsuna doubted someone like Takeshi-kun who was obviously cheerful, popular and probably someone with lots of friends would want to talk to "No Good Tsuna".

"Haha, anyone can learn how to play baseball- but that's okay. You can be my arms 'cuz I sprained my wrist and I'm not suppose to play baseball in that time- and I'll be your eyes!" Takeshi laughed. "It'll be really fun- I don't want to keep off baseball for too long!"

"B-but..."

"Sides, this is what friends do for each other! And we're friends now, right?" Takeshi-kun cut him off, still smiling.

Tsuna stared in shock, before smiling back.

"Un."

Friends. That sounded...nice. He really liked Takeshi-kun. He was cheerful, friendly and really nice.

It wasn't till they parted ways as the sun went down that Tsuna realized something very important. When Takeshi-kun was teaching him to play baseball(it was a complete and utter failure, but they had fun anyway), Tsuna could've sworn Takeshi-kun's presence was burning a bright, pleasant blue- unlike anyone else he had ever encountered.

Xxx

(I wasn't going to add this scene into the original version at first-- but people seemed to like it so it's here for fun. It wont be an actual part of the story, since Tsuna's personality differs a little too much)

Creaking of chains to his right meant that the swings were nearby. Eagerly, he ran towards them, not noticing how his loose shoe laces flicked against his legs till he tripped wonderfully onto the hard pavement.

He lay there for a few moments, his breathing harsh and loud, and tried to regain his bearings.

"Hey, are you alright?" A tall teenager(or man? He couldn't tell) asked as he made his way over to the small boy sprawled on the footpath, who was struggling to pull himself up.

Tsuna whimpered quietly as he clutched his bleeding knee and nodded at the question. A fiery burning sensation ran up his knee and the sharp metallic scent of blood stung his sensitive nose. Tears prickled at his eyes and he blinked rapidly to stop himself from crying.

"Here, let me help you." Strong arms gently encircled themselves around him, sliding under his knees and arms and Tsuna found himself lifted into the air. He felt a moment of fear when the man stumbled, but the feeling quickly faded when he found himself gently placed on a nearby bench.

The teenager laughed nervously, "close call, eh?" and rummaged through something(his bag? Coat pockets? Tsuna couldn't tell). He gave a small triumphant "aha" and pulled out small box that rattled when he shook it.

He felt the teenager gently wipe at his knee with a wet handkerchief before sticking a bandage on it. The teenager laughed and patted him on his head before tying up his loose shoelaces.

"Be careful with your shoelaces next time. All better now?" Tsuna sniffled once more and rubbed at his eyes before nodding. The bench moved slightly as the teenager plopped himself next to him.

"Thank you," he mumbled looking down at his knees. The teenager laughed again, ruffling his already messy hair.

"It was nothing. What's your name? I'm Dino." Tsuna looked up and gave a shy smile.

"I-I'm Tsuna." Suddenly, he frowned in contemplation. "Why do you speak funny?"

Dino grinned and carefully made sure not to make a big fuss about the kid's cloudy eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

Tsuna tilted his head to one side. "You have a funny ac-"He paused, trying to remember what the word was. "You have a funny accent! It doesn't sound right!"

Dino sweated slightly before deciding to play along.

"I do not! And it does sound right!" He protested in mock anger. Tsuna nodded vigorously.

"You do sound funny and it doesn't sound right! You pronounce things funny- like wrong- and and and and," Tsuna paused dramatically " you don't sound like anyone I know! Ne, ne, ne you're a gaijin, right?"

He had an odd triumphant look on his face that only a child could pull off. It was as if he had found out the secret to the universe.

"Yeah, I am. How'd you figure that out?" Dino couldn't help but laugh. Tsuna opened his mouth to ask another question, but was cut off by another voice.

"Tsu-kun! Time to go and pick up your daddy and his boss from the airport!" Dino looked up to see a young woman, no older than twenty five who bore a striking resemblance to the boy beside him. Tsuna beamed and jumped off the bench, forgetting about the conversation with the ease of a child who had a short attention span.

"Bye mister Dino!" Tsuna shouted over his shoulder and waved as he ran over to his mother. Dino smiled and waved back, forgetting that the kid couldn't even see it.

What a cute kid. It was nice to see such cute kids still running around- Dino hoped he could meet the kid again. And for some odd reason, he knew he would.

"Oi. Greenhorn!" Was the only warning Dino got before he was roughly kicked to the ground.

"R-Reborn!"He stammered. Oh shit.

"I don't think I ever said you could play around like the kid you are." A click of a gun, followed by a menacing smile.

"HIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE--EEEK!"

Xxx

Ffnet is a pain. It killed my formatting.

Does anyone want actual, factual information about why Tsuna is blind? I went out and did a lot of research, but I didn't want to include it in this chapter because I thought it would be a bit odd. Cookies to the first person who can guess which of Tsuna's abilities are developing early. I was really, really obvious about it. xD 

Next chapter, another time skip-- finally, Reborn can come into the picture!

Oh and I'm changing the name of Even in Dark, There is Light to "Cloudy Eyes"- just so people know.


	3. Enter Reborn

* * *

A/N: I apologise for how late this chapter is. I am not the most reliable of updaters at all. My urge to write ebbs and flows, I guess. Hopefully, since I now can go into POVS of other characters, my updates will be a little more constant. Don't get your hopes up though.

Anyway, a big thanks to everyone who left a review. A lot of your reviews made me smile, and truly, I appreciate them.

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR

* * *

A scrawny boy lay sprawled across his messy bed, to all appearance, deep in sleep. One arm was flung across his face as if to shield it from the bright rays of sunlight that passed through the window and the other hung off the bed limply. A small book lay open on the floor a few meters away from the bed, having been discarded only a few minutes ago in a fit of frustration. The boy sighed, shifting on his bed and rolled over towards the window side. He tucked his hands beneath his head in an attempt to get a more comfortable position to sleep in.

A large dog trotted into the room, its collar making quiet tinkling noises with each step the dog took. The dog nudged the book with its nose, sniffing at it curiously, pushing the pages lined with small raised dots in different patterns closed. Picking it up in its mouth, the dog jumped up onto the bed, causing the bed to shift again as new weight as added to it.

"Tanpopo, get off the bed," Tsuna mumbled half heartedly. "Mum will get angry if you get fur all over the bed again." He didn't make any move to push his dog off though; he was feeling far too tired to do anything.

Tanpopo barked around the book in her mouth, almost dropping the small novel onto Tsuna's head. Seeing that her owner would not move, the dog whined and dropped the book to the side of the bed, and watched it bounce off and onto the floor again with a dull thud. Turning back to her owner, Tanpopo pressed her cold, wet nose to Tsuna's cheek, nuzzling him and tickling him.

Tsuna groaned and pressed his face further into his pillow, pushing the dog away with one hand. He really, really didn't want to get up at the moment.

"Knock it off, Tanpopo." Tanpopo persisted, determined to get some sort of rise or promise out of her master.

"_Tanpopo."_

Persist, persist. She was getting closer to its goal now, she could feel it.

"Alright, alright!" Tsuna got up with a huff, running his hand through his hair in exasperation. He didn't care that he was making it messier. "I'll take you on a walk."

Success! Barking happily, Tanpopo went up on her hind legs and slobbered all over Tsuna's face in thanks before bolting out of the room, down the stairs and to the front door where it then sat impatiently.

Tsuna sighed, grabbing a face towel off his bedside table to clean up his face. Was it sad that even his DOG managed to convince him into doing things he didn't really want to do? Kicking off his blankets, he fumbled around for his sunglasses and Tanpopo's lead before using the wall to guide himself down the stairs.

Tanpopo barked again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Yeah, it was sad alright. Snapping the lead to the dog's collar, he pushed his sunglasses on his face (he didn't care how badly people thought of his fashion sense- there was a sense of security he felt with them on and quite frankly, the less people stared at him, the better) and allowed his dog to lead the way.

He supposed getting out of the house before his mother came home to find that he had skipped school again was an added bonus to the exercise he was reluctantly getting.

X-x-x

"No, Tanpopo," Tsuna said firmly, giving a firm tug on his dog's lead. The dog whined before reluctantly continuing on her way, leaving the butcher shop (from what Tsuna could tell from the smell of meat and blood and bleach) behind.

"We need to go home now," he ordered, tugging at the lead again to show that he was serious. He was dead tired and his legs felt like jelly. He didn't want to walk around aimlessly anymore in such large crowds. It felt like he was suffocating with everyone crowding around him like that. Tanpopo whined again before the dog finally moved back into the direction they came from, brushing pass business men and women making their way to the train station in order to go home.

He bumped into a couple of people as he slipped through the crowd, wincing as stray elbows and bags collided with his arms and shins. That was going to leave a bruise, he thought dully as a particularly sharp elbow jabbed itself into his ribcage and cringed away from the shrieks of laughter as two children chased each other down the street.

Tsuna sighed in relief as they finally broke free from the masses, relaxing visibly. Somewhere along the way, his sunglasses had been knocked off his face and probably lay broken and trampled on the streets somewhere. He groaned, pressing his face into the palm of his hand. Those glasses were a present from his mother too.

But he didn't want to go back there just to find them either. Tanpopo pawed at his leg.

"Oh, right! Home," he muttered and ran his fingers over familiar lines of brail on one of the street walls to figure out where he has. Although they were on one of the main streets of the city, it was surprisingly quiet and empty of people at this time of the day.

Using the lines to guide him (for as sad as it was, he could never remember how to navigate these streets by himself), he turned around a street corner and was promptly bowled over by someone running into him. He yelped loudly in surprise as he crashed into the ground. He was going to have a lot of bruises by the end of the day.

"Sorry," the girl said softly, helping him up. Tsuna smiled weakly as he scrambled to his feet again.

"It's fine."

The girl hesitated for a moment, her bright indigo aura flickering slightly. "Did you see...a cat run by?"

Tsuna shook his head.

"N-no, I haven't," he apologised as he reached out to grab Tanpopo's lead that he had dropped in their collision.

The girl paused and nodded. "Mm, I see then. I'll be going now."

Tsuna blinked as the girl with the indigo aura ran off, her footsteps quickly fading into the distance. Well, that was certainly...odd. And very, very awkward.

Shaking his head, he sighed as Tanpopo began to lead him home again. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any more collisions on the way back.

He had more than enough bruises to last the week.

He stumbled into his house, using the walls as a support to stop himself from collapsing completely.

"I'm home," he called out tiredly as he removed his shoes and put on his indoor slippers before making his way up the stairs. Tanpopo, free from her lead, merely scurried into the kitchen where food could be found.

Food was the last thing on Tsuna's mind. Sleep and rest however, were very much on it. He pushed open his door and collapsed in a heap on his bed.

He was so tired. And he was pretty sure by the time his mother got home from wherever she was again (he could tell she had been back home before because of the smell of dog food that had been left out in Tanpopo's doggy bowl) he'd get an earful about how bad it was to skip school and how his grades were suffering because of it.

He lay on his bed for about five minutes. Unable to fall asleep, he reached out with one hand and pulled a drawer open, fumbling around for the sketch book and colouring pencils inside. Retrieving the two items, he tossed pencils beside him and opened the sketch book to a new page. He touched the pencils, frowning as his fingers brushed over various colours, feeling them for the colour he wanted.

People always asked him how he managed to draw without his sight, how he managed to do anything at all. Tsuna didn't know himself actually. He just did it. Then again, how could he explain things to people who only ever used their eyes?

_Indigo._

His frown slowly turned into a smile as he grasped the pencil in his hand and with deft movements, began to sketch. The temperature in the air brought to mind the muted hues of pink and purple in the sky, with the sun slowly setting. He reached for black and brown and remembered the claustrophobic feeling of being surrounded by all sides; surrounded by sweaty, tired workers as they hurried home. A touch of reddish brown and yellow for the brick buildings and—

"TSU-KUN!"

Jerking up in surprise, he accidentally pressed a little too hard with his pencil, causing it to break.

"M-Mum?!" He squawked in surprise as his door slammed open. "Don't come into my room without permission!"

Nana ignored him with the practiced ease of a mother with a rebellious teenager.

"I heard from the school that you skipped class again today," Nana told him, sounding cross. "And then when I came home today to see what was wrong, I find out that you weren't even home AGAIN!"

"Tanpopo needed a walk," Tsuna cut in, scowling. He now remembered why he had skipped school in the first place.

"_Jeez, you really are Dame-Tsuna! Hopeless at everything! Making a mess of everything everywhere you go. Good thing Hibari-san isn't here," One boy groaned, standing over Tsuna, who was rubbing his head in pain. They were playing co-ed basketball for once and Tsuna, who had been excused from sport by the grumpy P.E teacher unwilling to baby him through class, was leaving for the courtyard. Just as he was one step away from the door, someone had shouted 'heads up' and a ball came flying, straight to his head, causing to trip and crash into a nearby ball crate, which tipped over, spilling balls everywhere—and lead to a whole string of disasters._

"_Where are those supposed superior reflexes of the blind?" Another boy interjected, annoyance lacing his words._

"_Aren't you guys supposed to be able to hit things before they hit you?"_

_A girl giggled. "Awww, leave poor baby Tsuna-kun alone. He can't help the fact that he's blind as a bat."_

"_You're too nice sometimes, Hikari-chan," the first boy sighed, sounding love-stricken. Hikari giggled again._

"_Besides, I'm sure Tsuna-kun is really sorry about his...accident. He knows his way around the school well enough that I'm sure he can clean up for us, right Tsuna-kun?"_

_Glumly, Tsuna sat there on the floor while trills of laughter followed the students out the door, thanking him for his "good work." He didn't even have a choice in it. And it was just his luck that for the rest of the year, he was stuck in a class full of students who didn't believe that he was truly blind or looked down on anyone disabled._

_After picking up about five balls and hitting his head ten times, he decided to call it a day._

_There was no use in staying in this place._

"--Tsu-kun! I don't know what to do with you sometimes. How are you going to amount to anything if you skip school all day?"

Tsuna shrugged, not wanting to give away that half way through her tirade, he zoned out, thinking about other things. Nana huffed.

"Tsu-kun!" She wailed. "If you're skipping school all the time, how are you going to make friends and be happy? All I want you to be able to do is say "the world is so wonderful!" and smile properly instead of sulking around all the time."

Tsuna twitched. He could just picture his mother in his mind's eye, twirling around gleefully surrounded by sparkles as she imagined her imaginary cute son who loved the world.

"And recently, your grades have been slipping too. Your father" Tsuna's scowl grew here "and I really want you to be able to get into university- it doesn't even have to be Tokyo U, just any university! And how will you be able to do that if you don't keep up your marks! I mean 40 percent in science Tsu-kun? I thought you liked science!"

Tsuna sighed and tried not to fidget as he waited for his mother's rant to end. He began to tune out again, thinking about what he'd like to try and draw—to prove to the world, you didn't need eyes to make art—he had already done the beach several times, and it next to impossible to even try drawing people without touching their faces, which most people wouldn't let him do—

"-which is why I've gotten you a tutor."

Silence.

"...wait, what?"

"Pardon, not 'what', dear," Nana corrected absentmindedly as she rummaged through her purse. Pulling out a flyer she gave a triumphant cry.

"I got this in the mail today, Tsu-kun!" She squealed. "Will train your son or daughter to be the next leader of the world- Reborn. I had never seen an ad like this before! Isn't it so charming and unique? Anyway, I called the number and hired that tutor, so he should be here in an hour or so. It's such a good thing you came home when you did."

Tsuna choked. "MUM! What do you mean you---" he breathed out uneasily and tried not to scream in frustration.

He failed. But at least he tried.

"That kind of thing---it's definitely a scam! Mum, why do you always fall for these kinds of things? It's a scam, Mum, a sc---are you even listening to me?!"

Indeed, his mother had gone straight into la-la land, most likely imagining him as such influential businessman- or heaven forbid, the _prime minister_ of Japan.

He groaned, too busy screaming in his head to notice the almost silent footsteps creep up the stairs, or that Tanpopo had gone suspiciously silent from where she was in the kitchen.

"Tsu-kun, you'll be-"

"Ciaossu. I'm Reborn, the tutor."

Both mother and son froze, instantly turning to the source of the voice.

"Why, you're..." Nana trailed off in surprise, eyeing the tutor in wonder. Tsuna frowned, wondering why the tutor's aura...seemed to emit from such a tiny person...or why the tutor sounded like he took a breath full of helium.

"But you're a baby!" Nana exclaimed. Tsuna fell over. "Maybe you're a prodigy?"

"What?! How is a baby suppose to teach me?! It's a scam, I told you!" Tsuna spluttered loudly as he crawled over to his mother and the so called tutor. Frowning, he patted the tutor on the head.

"Go home, little boy," Tsuna ordered, but softened his tone. "I'm sorry but I don't need to be taught by ki---URK!"

A sharp kick to his stomach, sent him flying back into his bed and well into his own "la-la" land.

Reborn frowned inwardly as he eyed the unconscious form of his new student. It seemed like he had a lot of work to do. Meanwhile...

"Excuse me, maman, I'll be staying with your son, Tsuna while I teach him everything that he needs to be taught," Reborn began, smiling in a charming way that sent thousands of women swooning. Nana was no exception, as she instantly turned giddy and clasped her hands together.

"Is that right? I'll be sure to set up a hammock or a cot for you to sleep on then, since you're staying with us! I'll go start dinner now. Tsu-kun should be out for awhile but he'll wake up in ten minutes or so. That boy, always napping and if he's not napping, he's wasting his time drawing-wonderfully, I'll give you- or playing around with Tanpopo."

Suddenly, the woman paused.

"Speaking of which- where is Tanpopo?" Reborn tilted his hat to hide the sudden glint in his eyes.

"Sleeping, maman. Don't worry, I moved her to the living room awhile ago."

Nana squealed. "Oh, you're such a good person doing that for Tanpopo and Tsuna—it really was a good thing you're Tsu-kun's tutor now. He'll learn a lot from you, I'm sure. Oh, I'm such a terrible host- I didn't get to buy coffee and, oh, I'll just pop out now and buy some groceries to start dinner. I'll be back in an hour or two, Reborn-kun!"

With that, Nana flounced out, humming cheerfully to herself.

Reborn smiled. Iemitsu really did choose the right woman to be his wife. Looking around the room, he began to study it. Whilst he may have received a bit of general information on his student, it was good to study his surroundings to pick up any quirks his student had.

The room was freakishly neat, probably to help accommodate the boy in finding all his things. The only thing that was remotely messy was the pile of pencils on the floor, along with a sketch book opened face down. There were a couple of stacks of paper on the desk along with a Braille machine. A couple of books too, all in Braille. He remembered that Iemitsu had paid quite a bit for Namimori to accommodatehis boy completely. That must be why he didn't go to a special needs school then, Reborn mused. Turning away from the desk, he neatly jumped ontop of his student's boy- illicting an oomph, but nothing else- and grabbed the sketch book and flipped it open. Eying the vibrant and colourful drawings, he couldn't help but be impressed. The drawings were incredibly detailed and although it wasn't Leonardo da Vinci or Raphael, it was good. Really good. The fact that someone blind could draw so well didn't really surprise him. He once knew a man who was born with no eyes and had to rely on his fingertips to tell him what colour he was using, his other senses to picture things in his mind as he put it to paper.

Now his work...had Reborn been more into the arts, he would have easily admitted his work was phenomenal. Reborn didn't care much about the fact that his student was a budding artist- but what his drawings revealed what he was like.

With detail like this, Tsuna was definitely observant, Reborn decided. Very, very observant. Was it his intuition leaking through?

Perhaps his no-good student had some potential after all. He smiled as he pulled out his gun, watching his student slowly wake up. Thumbing back the hammer, his smile grew as the click snapped the boy awake and straight into panicking mode.

Yes, maybe there was potential. And if there wasn't...

...well, Reborn was willing to do what it took to create that potential and implant into that scrawny body.

No matter what, he would make a mafia boss out of his new student.

That was his job, after all.

* * *

A/N: I am not pulling your leg. I did a bit of researching and yes, there really was a man born without eyes that can make amazing, amazing art. I think it just goes to show how well people can cope without sight and that people like us, with pretty good eyesight- we're so reliant on it, it's so hard to imagine life without it. Hopefully, one day I can put across Tsuna's blindness with more realism. But for now...

Here's the link to the man: http (double dot)(double slash)community(dot)livejournal(dot)com(slash)wtf_nature(slash)


	4. Dying Wills & Explanations

**A/N:** This took an extremely long time to get out, mainly because with school, exams, computers breaking down I hadn't felt like writing the next chapter for this story at all. A lot of Reborn's dialogue has been taken from the first chapter, as has the dialogue of some unnamed students.

For the record, I'd like to make it very clear that there will be no pairings(or at least, not for a very long time). The extent of any pairings will probably be onesided Haru/Tsuna and a bit of Bianchi/Reborn. I've decided to make this story prominently a friendship story and one of Tsuna's growth as a person as he learns to break pass his self-imposed limits and the limits the world has set upon him. Of course, as he gains his friends, they'll be along for the ride as well. Over time, hopefully, the distinctions between this Tsuna and canon!Tsuna will be more clear though, the essential traits of their characters will remain.

Once again, this is unbeta'd, though I tried my best to read over my own work. Read and review please! If you spot any mistakes or have any criticism for me to take onboard for my next chapter, please inform me.

Thank you to all the people who have reviewed and favourited Cloudy Eyes! Unfortunately, I haven't been receiving any e-mail alerts from ffnet as of late, so I may have trouble getting back to you if you have any questions.

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

**Cloudy Eyes Chapter Three: Dying Wills and Mafia Explanations**

Reborn smirked and fired a shot, missing the flailing boy by mere centimetres.

"WAIT-WHAT WHAT," Tsuna spluttered loudly. "WHAT IS THAT?! A toy, right? A toy!"

"Perfectly real," he replied smoothly. Tsuna rubbed his ear, wincing.

"I-I can't believe this," he moaned. "A baby. Even a baby is bullying me. With a gun, sure-"

"I can hurt you without my gun too," Reborn replied as he jumped up and twisted Tsuna's arm behind his back, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Owww," he wailed. "What kind of kid are you anyway?!" Reborn smiled smugly as he jumped back.

"An assassin." Grabbing a cloth, he polished his gun as he continued to speak. "My real line of work is assassination-"

"How is a baby suppose to be an assassin anyway?! Don't make things-"

Another kick to Tsuna's face shut him up. Reborn continued as if he hadn't been interrupted.

"-and my real job, is to make you a mafia boss."

Tsuna promptly fell off his bed. "A what?! A mafia boss?! Is your head screwed on properly? " Tsuna demanded.

"I was assigned by a certain man to train you into becoming an awesome mafia boss." A smirk played on the baby's lips as he jabbed the boy in the chest with his rifle. "I'm allowed to use whatever methods I wish to use. Should I shoot you now?"

Suddenly, there was a loud growl. The baby paused.

"But not now. Later" He then turned heel and walked right out of the room. Tsuna was left alone, bruised and battered and quite close to cracking up in hysteria.

"Ha-ha...that baby...I don't even..." Tsuna breathed out slowly as he clambered to his feet and grabbed the door handle to steady himself. Judging by the growl, the baby had probably gone off to get some dinner and hopefully, he wouldn't be back. Tsuna really didn't want to deal with a guy like that ever again.

"I'll warn Mum next time," he muttered under his breath as he walked down the stairs.

"Tsu-kun~! Dinner's ready!"

"I'm coming!" Tsuna shouted in reply as he jumped down the last few steps. "Listen, Mum, about that tutor-"

"Hm? The contract states that Reborn-kun will live here until your grades go up. Oh, Tsu-kun, having such a charming young tutor to help you out! You're so lucky. Look! Tanpopo-chan took an instant shine to Reborn-kun too, so I'm sure we'll all get along very well."

He was staying. Oh god. Reborn was staying. That crazy kid. Sitting down, all Tsuna could do was sigh in resignation.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning. There were no classes at school for once. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. It was a wonderful day. Well, wonderful unless you went by the name of Sawada Tsunayoshi. Then things tended to be pretty terrible.

Reborn, Tsuna decided, was the living proof of the quote "the devil comes in all disguises". With his childish voice and smooth disposition, Reborn had charmed his mum, all the women in the neighbourhood and his DOG. You didn't have to have an evil voice to be evil and Reborn showed how true that was.

It wasn't fair that he was the only one able to see the true demon within. Because that was what Reborn was- an evil, evil, sadistic demon hired by his mother to tutor him, only he was trying to turn him into a mafia boss instead. 'Blind people didn't become mafia bosses!' Tsuna had protested angrily during one of Reborn's torture sessions. Reborn had merely smirked infuriatingly(Tsuna could hear it in his voice) and tilted his fedora.

'Then you'll become the first.'

And then the bombs had come out as Reborn began testing him on all his school work. Bombs after bombs and guns. Oh god, the guns.

"Reborn, go home," Tsuna groaned as he walked to the shops. He didn't want to be seen being bullied by a baby of all people. The way was as familiar as the back of his hand, so he didn't need Tanpopo with him to help him out. All he needed was his trusty walking stick - which Reborn had promptly confiscated and told him it would be essential that he learn to cope without it.

An absolute demon, Tsuna hissed inwardly. Already he had tripped over three tree roots, walked into a wall and fallen over the curb. Okay, so those things weren't there the last time he walked to the shops. But none of that would have happened if he just had his _stick_.

"Ah, Tsuna-kun?" A voice of an angel called out to him. Startled, he momentarily forgot Reborn's presence as he smiled happily.

"Kyoko-chan," Tsuna greeted, cheeks flushed. Kyoko was one of those few people in his school that treated him like she treated everyone else. Kindly, like he was human instead of just a nuisance, the way everyone else treated. The others were Kurokawa Hana and Yamamoto Takeshi(and granted, he didn't know of the seniors at all aside from Mochida-senpai), but Kurokawa was a scary sort of girl who was rude to everyone except Kyoko and Yamamoto was too busy with baseball to really reach out to anyone outside of the baseball club, even if the guy was super popular. Him being super popular was also another reason why Tsuna didn't approach Yamamoto – Yamamoto was too amazing for Tsuna to even consider trying to make friends with. A part of him told him that he had done it once(when? Tsuna didn't remember, so he figured this part of him was rather unreliable) and if he tried again, there wouldn't be any harm since he had zero pride and all. That part had been ruthlessly crushed and smothered a long time ago underneath the weight of his lack of self worth.

Kyoko was the only girl his age he could talk to, but even then that wasn't saying much. Kyoko wasn't exactly a friend, though Tsuna would like her to be- she was mainly just a friendly class mate.

"Are you going to the shops to pick up some stuff for your mum?" Tsuna questioned. Kyoko shook her head, forgetting that Tsuna couldn't see her doing it.

"Ah, no. I'm meeting Mochida-senpai here for a date," she replied. Instantly, Tsuna felt his good mood dim a little. Mochida-senpai?

Mochida was one of the many in his school who put on a nice face for only those who they felt mattered and showed their true colours to all those they felt were beneath him. Being considered beneath everyone's notice, Tsuna was one of the few who knew exactly what kind of person Mochida was.

He also knew that Mochida was only using Kyoko and was dating other girls on the side from Mochida's boasts in the locker room. A part of him wished Kyoko could see Mochida for what he was. Another part wished he was brave enough to give her some sort of warning. But he was only No Good Tsuna, blind as a bat and what would he know? He doubted his warning would be taken in any other way than with amusement or contempt. Most likely with amusement. Kyoko wasn't capable of contempt that was how amazing she was.

"O-Oh, really?" Tsuna laughed nervously. "I'll leave you to your date then."

He hurried off, not wanting to be around for when Mochida arrived. A shiver ran down his back. Who knew what Mochida would do to him if he found No Good Tsuna hanging around his current girlfriend. He inwardly sweated. He'd probably be beaten up on the grounds that Mochida was merely protecting his precious girlfriend from unsavoury characters – everyone at school would believe him too.

"You have a crush on her, don't you?" Reborn piped up suddenly, causing the boy to stumble over a crack in the ground.

"Reborn! You were there the whole time?" Tsuna yelped. And got a kick in his shins.

"No-good Tsuna should be more aware of his surroundings."

"O-ow, you didn't have to kick me!"

"Seems like beating it into you is the only way for you to learn."

Tsuna gaped. "THERE ARE OTHER WAYS FOR ME TO LEARN. PREFERABLY WITHOUT PAIN!"

Coughing, he tried to ignore the feeling of everyone staring at him with an incredulous look as he ducked into the grocery store to pick up some sweets for his mother.

"A-anyway, I'm not interested in Kyoko-chan like that."

"Oh?"

"First off, she's just one of the few people to treat me like everyone else, even if I'm blind. Secondly, even if I did like her, she's way beyond my league."

"That's an amazing loser complex you've got there," Reborn remarked. Tsuna huffed but continued on.

"And thirdly, she's dating Mochida-senpai." Tsuna couldn't quite hide his exasperation as he spoke Mochida's name.

"And you don't like this guy?"

Tsuna looked embarrassed. Tsuna could never explain why but he never liked Mochida. It wasn't like the way he felt about the other students(with a mixture of exasperation and fear) and it wasn't quite hate either but he just didn't like the guy. He felt bad about it but that was how he felt.

"Well, no not really." He dropped the sweets onto the counter and payed for it. One benefit with Reborn being around, was that he would know if he was being ripped off or not, right?

Tsuna hoped so.

"Why?"

Tsuna sighed. "Why do you keep asking me these things? It's because he's..." Tsuna hesitated. He didn't like saying bad things about people but really, Mochida was doing some things that were pretty low. "He's only using Kyoko-chan. I want to warn her about him but I'm only No Good Tsuna. Why would she believe me?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Then die."

Tsuna blinked. "Wha-"

There was a gunshot and pain and all Tsuna could think about as he hit the floor was that he wished he had told Kyoko the truth about Mochida. _If only I had more confidence. I would have warned her._

Then, a strange feeling overcame him. He could do it. He would do it. Even if he had to be reborn from his dying ashes, he would tell her. Passerbys looked on in shock as the boy on the floor suddenly ripped out of his clothes and began running at amazing speeds down the street. An orange flame blazed on his forehead, a mark of his state.

"REBORN! TELL KYOKO-CHAN THE TRUTH ABOUT MOCHIDA WITH MY DYING WILL!"

Reborn smirked as he followed at a more sedate pace

As he ran down the streets, he didn't notice as he ran passed the baseball team, with one Yamamoto Takeshi staring down where he had passed long after he had vanished.

"Hey...wasn't that Sawada in our class?"

"Who?"

"No Good Tsuna? Who is as blind as a bat? Please, there's a reason why that kid is considered to be no good. He's slow as hell. It was probably some look alike."

"Ha-ha, probably."

A part of Yamamoto couldn't help but think there was only one person in their quiet town that had that kind of hair though.

x x x

Tsuna was running. To Kyoko, wherever she was. He ignored the pain in his feet, the scratches and bruises across his arms and ignored how the bike he had just run into had thrown him down a cliff and onto the road below. After all, it had thrown him to where Kyoko was standing with Mochida.

"KYOKO-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

"T-tsuna-kun?" Kyoko stammered, taking in the awful state her classmate was in. Why was he only in his boxers? The boy was crouched on all fours with his head bowed. But at the sound of her voice, he jolted up and shouted as loudly as he could.

"KYOKO-CHAN! YOU SHOULDN'T GO OUT WITH MOCHIDA-SENPAI! HE'S BEEN CHEATING ON YOU WITH AKIYAMA YUKI FROM CLASS 2B!"

Eyes wild and a little bloody with a giant orange flame burning on his forehead, Tsuna made a somewhat terrifying sight coupled with his booming roar. Kyoko couldn't help it. She screamed loudly and ran away, forgetting Mochida who was with her. Mochida, who was absolutely furious this half-pint scrawny first year had cost him the hottest girl he ever had as a girlfriend.

"YOU PERVERTED BASTARD!" He shouted, punching Tsuna in the face just as the flames on his forehead disappeared, before running after his girlfriend.

Stunned, Tsuna fell to the ground, clutching his bruised face in pain. Sneezing, he spluttered again as a bullet came out of his nose.

"So I really did get shot in the hea—owww, why does everything hurt now?"

"That was the dying will bullet. It uses external pressure to open up a lot of power, nullifying your ability to feel pain. Of course, that guy punched you just as the flame went out, so you felt the whole thing. In exchange for risking your life, you'll be able to harness amazing strength."

"R-reborn!" Tsuna shouted in surprise. Then he blanched. "HIIIEEE! DON'T SHOOT ME AGAIN."

Reborn smirked ignoring Tsuna's shout. "When shot with the dying will bullet, the person will go and perform his dying regret, a state which lasts for five minutes. Of course, if the person doesn't have a regret, he dies."

Tsuna spluttered in horror.

"So I could have died!"

"Of course."

"DON'T SAY SUCH THINGS SO CASUALLY. A-and where did my clothes go? Oh no, Kyoko-chan is going to think I'm such a freak. I'll never be able to look at her in the eye again. I'll be seen as a pervert forever."

"You couldn't look at her anyway."

"IT WAS AN EXPRESSION. AN EXPRESSION."

Humiliated and mortified, Tsuna dragged himself home amidst all the whispers and laughter. Thankfully, Reborn had kept the sweets he had bought, so he didn't have to explain why he had forgotten to get them and lost his clothes in the process. She managed to believe his explanation that he was attacked by a bunch of attack dogs at least.

"Oh Tsu-kun," she had sighed.

He couldn't go back to school now. Kyoko probably hated him and Mochida definitely wanted to kill him.

Groaning he threw his aching body onto his bed. He lay there for a few moments before he sat back up.

"Hey Reborn? What's the dying will bullet anyway? I've never even heard of it before." Tsuna wouldn't have believed it even existed if it weren't for the fact that he just experienced it earlier in the day. Now that the shock had worn off, a part of him was curious enough to want to know more.

Reborn adjusted the blanket in his hammock as he spoke.

"The dying will bullet is a special bullet that has been passed down for generations in the Vongola Family."

"Vongola...family?"

"The man that sent me here to raise you into a mafia boss was the Vongola Family's Ninth Generation Boss. Vongola Ninth is getting old and is planning to pass on his status to the 10th generation. But the most qualified, Enrico was shot in a feud. The second, Matsumo was drowned. The favourite, Federigo was found reduced to bones." Reborn went on to describe in graphic detail how they all died and the conditions of their bodies when they were found, ignoring Tsuna's shrieks of horror for him to stop explaining things so graphically.

"So now, you're the only candidate left. The Vongola Family's first boss retired early and crossed over to Japan. That man was your great great great grandfather, so you are a part of the Vongola bloodline and a legitimate candidate."

"What are you talking about?! I've never heard of this before," Tsuna snapped, irritation clear on his face.

"Don't worry. I'm a top of the line assassin and tutor. I'll make you into a great mafia boss," Reborn responded as he settled into his hammock.

"I didn't ask about that at all!"

Reborn ignored him once again(much to Tsuna's frustration) and changed into his pyjamas.

"If you wake me up, you'll die."

"Did you set traps in my room again?! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?! Reborn?! Are you---ah jeez, he fell asleep again!"

Tsuna groaned as he buried his face in his hands. He hated his life. He hated his life so very much.

Tanpopo stared at him in the corner with a small amount of curiosity before going back to her food bowl. It probably wasn't important.

Xxx

Tsuna did not like school. He didn't really care that his father probably paid millions of yen and pulled many strings to get Namimori Junior High to take him as a student. He didn't care that Namimori was the only normal school in Japan to boast a program that would accommodate disabled students due to his father's meddling.

He knew he should've felt lucky that his uncool, somewhat of a deadbeat father(Tsuna did remember how his dad had been there for him after the Incident, so instead of a complete deadbeat father, his dad was only somewhat of a deadbeat father – after all, what kind of dad abandoned his family for years at a time?) had the influence, power and money to help Tsuna get into a normal school.

But then...

"HAHAHA! It's No Good Tsuna! Your lack of sight make you forget your clothes?"

"Wow, Sawada. Always knew you were useless. Didn't think you were a pervert too."

"You that obsessed with poor Kyoko-chan that you'd spread lies about the super cool Mochida-senpai to make them break up? Jeez, never thought you'd be that."

Then, there were moments like these that made Tsuna wish his parents never even bothered. He cringed under the onslaught of insults and mockery as he stepped into the classroom. Quickly, he turned to run away and out of the school, be damned the consequences.

He didn't notice Kyoko sitting quietly in her seat, looking every bit as embarrassed and mortified as he was. Nor did he realise she had jumped up in her seat and opened her mouth to warn him of the danger he was stepping into outside the class.

_Okay, skipping class early starting right no-_

"Whoa, you can't go home just yet!" Tsuna shrieked as strong arms grabbed him and frogmarched him down the hallway. Jeers and laughter surrounded him and students in other classes poked their heads out of the door way to see what the fuss was all about.

"Captain Mochida is waiting for you in the dojo! Off to the dojo now! Scum like you...you shouldn't be wasting the time of your superiors now, okay?" He received another nasty shove.

Tsuna hung his head and inwardly sighed as his plans to escape without notice fell into pieces around him, completely trapped and surrounded by the members of the kendo club.

This was all Reborn's fault, Tsuna thought gloomily.


End file.
